Eurovision 2024: Complete Winners List, Top Host Nations and Most Successful Countries

Were you aware that despite their successes, Sweden and Ireland are not the countries that have hosted the Eurovision Song Contest the most times, or that the United Kingdom weren’t even involved in the very first competition back in 1956?

Ahead of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, taking place in Malmö, Sweden from May 7 2024, with the grand final taking place on May 11 2024, NationalWorld has dived into the annuls of the song contest to find out who the most successful countries have been at the contest.

Alongside that information, we were also curious when certain countries debuted at the contest, which first began in 1956, along with a comprehensive list of the winning countries, their artists and their songs throughout the history of the competition.

If you’re about to head out to a Eurovision-themed pub quiz, or just want to “flex” some knowledge with friends and family during the grand final, then perhaps some of this trivia may come in handy.

Who are the five most successful Eurovision Song Contest winners?

Ireland and Sweden lead the list of the most successful countries at Eurovision, both boasting a record 7 victories each. Ireland's wins came in 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1996, while Sweden secured its wins in 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012, 2015, and 2023. 

Following them, France, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom have each won the contest 5 times. France's wins occurred in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1969, and 1977, while Luxembourg's victories were in 1961, 1965, 1972, 1973, and 1983. 

Finally, the United Kingdom's wins came in 1967, 1969, 1976, 1981, and 1997, so we’ve not been that bad at Eurovision after all it would appear.

Which country has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest the most times?

The UK is number one at Eurovision… when it comes to the country that has hosted it the most times.

The UK has hosted the contest 9 times in total, in the following years: 1960, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1998, and 2023. This high number of times is due to the UK stepping in as host when other countries were unable to host the contest.

After the United Kingdom, the next country that has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest the most times is Sweden, which has hosted the contest 7 times. The Swedish cities that have hosted the contest are Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö in the years 1975, 1985, 1992, 2000, 2013, 2016, and 2023.

The third most frequent host country is the Netherlands, which has hosted the contest 5 times. The contest was held in the Dutch cities of Hilversum, Amsterdam, and The Hague in the years 1958, 1970, 1976, 1980, and 2021.

What country is the most recent to debut at the Eurovision Song Contest?

As of writing, that would be the great European country of Australia. The Aussies were invited to participate as a special guest in 2015 to celebrate the contest's 60th anniversary, and the country has competed every year since then. 

Although technically speaking, Montenegro’s addition in 2018 could be considered the most recent addition, however, they previously competed in 2003, before rejoining once again in 2012.

Interesting to note also is that despite being one of the “Big Five” acts that automatically qualify for the Eurovision Song Contest final, the United Kingdom made their debut at the second-ever event, rather than its debut in 1956. 

Year by Year: When Countries First Entered the Eurovision Song Contest

• 1956: Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg
• 1957: Austria, Denmark, United Kingdom
• 1958: Sweden
• 1959: Monaco
• 1960: Norway
• 1961: Finland, Spain, Yugoslavia
• 1964: Portugal
• 1965: Ireland
• 1971: Malta
• 1973: Israel
• 1974: Greece
• 1975: Turkey
• 1976: Yugoslavia (rejoined)
• 1980: Morocco
• 1981: Cyprus
• 1986: Yugoslavia (rejoined)
• 1993: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia
• 1994: Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia
• 1995: Georgia
• 1996: North Macedonia
• 1998: Slovakia (rejoined)
• 2003: Belarus, Serbia & Montenegro
• 2004: Albania, Andorra, Armenia
• 2005: Bulgaria, Moldova
• 2006: Armenia
• 2007: Czech Republic, Georgia
• 2008: Azerbaijan, San Marino
• 2011: Austria (rejoined)
• 2012: Montenegro (rejoined)
• 2013: Albania (rejoined)
• 2015: Australia
• 2018: Montenegro (rejoined)

Complete list of Eurovision Song Contest winners since its inception

• 1956: Switzerland – Lys Assia, "Refrain"
• 1957: Netherlands – Corry Brokken, "Net als toen"
• 1958: France – André Claveau, "Dors, mon amour"
• 1959: Netherlands – Teddy Scholten, "Een beetje"
• 1960: France – Jacqueline Boyer, "Tom Pillibi"
• 1961: Luxembourg – Jean-Claude Pascal, "Nous les amoureux"
• 1962: France – Isabelle Aubret, "Un premier amour"
• 1963: Denmark – Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann, "Dansevise"
• 1964: Italy – Gigliola Cinquetti, "Non ho l'età"
• 1965: Luxembourg – France Gall, "Poupée de cire, poupée de son"
• 1966: Austria – Udo Jürgens, "Merci, Chérie"
• 1967: United Kingdom – Sandie Shaw, "Puppet on a String"
• 1968: Spain – Massiel, "La, la, la"
• 1969: Spain – Salomé, "Vivo cantando"
• 1969: United Kingdom – Lulu, "Boom Bang-a-Bang"
• 1969: Netherlands – Lenny Kuhr, "De troubadour"
• 1969: France – Frida Boccara, "Un jour, un enfant"
• 1970: Ireland – Dana, "All Kinds of Everything"
• 1971: Monaco – Séverine, "Un banc, un arbre, une rue"
• 1972: Luxembourg – Vicky Leandros, "Après toi"
• 1973: Luxembourg – Anne-Marie David, "Tu te reconnaîtras"
• 1974: Sweden – ABBA, "Waterloo"
• 1975: Netherlands – Teach-In, "Ding-a-dong"
• 1976: United Kingdom – Brotherhood of Man, "Save Your Kisses for Me"
• 1977: France – Marie Myriam, "L'oiseau et l'enfant"
• 1978: Israel – Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta, "A-Ba-Ni-Bi"
• 1979: Israel – Gali Atari and Milk and Honey, "Hallelujah"
• 1980: Ireland – Johnny Logan, "What's Another Year"
• 1981: United Kingdom – Bucks Fizz, "Making Your Mind Up"
• 1982: Germany – Nicole, "Ein bißchen Frieden"
• 1983: Luxembourg – Corinne Hermes, "Si la vie est cadeau"
• 1984: Sweden – Herreys, "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley"
• 1985: Norway – Bobbysocks!, "La det swinge"
• 1986: Belgium – Sandra Kim, "J'aime la vie"
• 1987: Ireland – Johnny Logan, "Hold Me Now"
• 1988: Switzerland – Celine Dion, "Ne partez pas sans moi"
• 1989: Yugoslavia – Riva, "Rock Me"
• 1990: Italy – Toto Cutugno, "Insieme: 1992"
• 1991: Sweden – Carola, "Fångad av en stormvind"
• 1992: Ireland – Linda Martin, "Why Me?"
• 1993: Ireland – Niamh Kavanagh, "In Your Eyes"
• 1994: Ireland – Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan, "Rock 'N' Roll Kids"
• 1995: Norway – Secret Garden, "Nocturne"
• 1996: Ireland – Eimear Quinn, "The Voice"

• 1997: United Kingdom – Katrina and the Waves, "Love Shine a Light"
• 1998: Israel – Dana International, "Diva"
• 1999: Sweden – Charlotte Nilsson, "Take Me to Your Heaven"
• 2000: Denmark – Olsen Brothers, "Fly on the Wings of Love"
• 2001: Estonia – Tanel Padar, Dave Benton, and 2XL, "Everybody"
• 2002: Latvia – Marie N, "I Wanna"
• 2003: Turkey – Sertab Erener, "Everyway That I Can"
• 2004: Ukraine – Ruslana, "Wild Dances"
• 2005: Greece – Helena Paparizou, "My Number One"
• 2006: Finland – Lordi, "Hard Rock Hallelujah"
• 2007: Serbia – Marija Šerifović, "Molitva"
• 2008: Russia – Dima Bilan, "Believe"
• 2009: Norway – Alexander Rybak, "Fairytale"
• 2010: Germany – Lena, "Satellite"
• 2011: Azerbaijan – Ell and Nikki, "Running Scared"
• 2012: Sweden – Loreen, "Euphoria"
• 2013: Denmark – Emmelie de Forest, "Only Teardrops"
• 2014: Austria – Conchita Wurst, "Rise Like a Phoenix"
• 2015: Sweden – Måns Zelmerlöw, "Heroes"
• 2016: Ukraine – Jamala, "1944"
• 2017: Portugal – Salvador Sobral, "Amar pelos dois"
• 2018: Israel – Netta, "Toy"
• 2019: Netherlands – Duncan Laurence, "Arcade"
• 2020: Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• 2021: Italy – Måneskin, "Zitti e buoni"
• 2022: Ukraine – Kalush Orchestra, "Stefania"
• 2023: Sweden – Loreen, "Tattoo"